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[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Thin Places" by Diane Owens Prettyman, which is the February 2013 book of the month.]

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I find it difficult to pinpoint what kind of story Thin Places by Diane Owens Prettyman is. It’s a journey of self discovery rolled up in a mystery. There are also religious undertones and roots in Irish folklore. I think it’s the kind of book that will affect each person who reads it differently.

The story opens in a Texas prison. Finn Tully, an inmate and self-describe heroin addict and liar, has struck up a friendship with Calvery, while mopping the corridors of death row. With his connections, Tully is able to provide sugar to Calvery, who in exchange gives him some of the wine he makes with it. During these exchanges Calvery tells Tully about many things including his daughter Chloe, his treasure, and the thin places. Tully is dismayed to discover that Calvery’s execution date is the next day. Calvery seems very serene despite his situation, and reminds Tully that he promised to find Chloe and tell her that her father was innocent. This isn’t a promise he’s sure he’s going to keep, his priority is to get home to his wife and daughter, but he’s not about to deny a mans dying wish.

The day after the execution, Tully received a box of Calvery’s possessions. He finds some some books, a calendar, a poem and a pet turtle named Sport. Even though a good man and his friend had died, things seemed ok. Tully’s sentence was almost up and he was ready to go home. Unfortunately, he received 2 letters, one was a bill of divorce and the other was from his mother, telling him she has cancer and only about a year left. When he’s released, he goes to see his mother first and despite her protests goes to see his now ex-wife and daughter, Lacey. When he gets there, all he finds is a new man in his wife’s life, and a little girl who doesn’t know who he is. With everything he cared about gone, he convinces his mother to take a trip with him to Washington, so he can find Chloe and fulfill his promise to Calvery.

Meanwhile, Chloe is dealing with her father’s execution in Clam Harbor, Washington. She had just learned that Calvery was a death row inmate a few years earlier, and feels like an outcast when she sees his photo and the announcement in the paper. Chloe runs a charter fishing business on the Perpetuity, which she inherited from her father, with Calvery’s best friend Butch. She’s barely making ends meet though and she needs to make more money if she’s going to get her mother out of the nursing home. A somewhat regular customer of hers introduces her to a Texan named Duke, who proposes she enter into a smuggling scheme with him. Chloe is now torn between going completely broke, or making good money through illegal actions. The thought of losing her fathers boat and her mother in that nursing home are deciding factors, she needs the money.

Upon arriving in Clam Harbor, Tully and his mother run into Chloe almost right away, although they don’t realize who she is until later. She tells them about the clam festival that’s starting that evening, and they all run into each other again there that evening. Tully charters a trip with his mother on Chloe’s boat, and there’s definitely a growing attraction between the two. However, Tully begins to remember Calvery talking about his best friend Butch and puts two and two together. Now he’s torn between telling Chloe about her father and his growing feelings for her. Then he discovers her involvement with Duke; he has to come clean about being there specifically to find her. He and his mother have to try and help her find a way out of her situation and help her discover the truth about her father’s innocence.

I don’t really have anything bad to say about this book. The only thing I can think of is that I wish the climax had been a little more drawn out and detailed. I kind of felt like a lot more action could have been present there. Besides that, and that’s a minor thing to begin with, I loved this book. I found it very hard to put down, it was very enticing as you learned about each character and anticipated Tully and Chloe’s eventual meeting. I would give this book a 4 out of 4. It’s a great story about personal growth and the quest for redemption.

I'm sorry but Thin Places did nothing for me. The story is predictable & trite and the characters shallow,superficial and incredibly stereotypical. Given the title I expected a darker more suspenseful tale instead I got a very conventional boy meets girl trying to masquerade as a thriller.All I can say in it's favour is that it's short so at least I didn't waste much of my reading time on it. The only surprise for me was that it didn't close with "and they all lived happily ever after".Sorry but no, I certainly would not recommend it.

We fade away, but vivid in our eyesA world is born again that never dies.- My Home by Clive James

Fran wrote:I'm sorry but Thin Places did nothing for me. The story is predictable & trite and the characters shallow,superficial and incredibly stereotypical. Given the title I expected a darker more suspenseful tale instead I got a very conventional boy meets girl trying to masquerade as a thriller.All I can say in it's favour is that it's short so at least I didn't waste much of my reading time on it. The only surprise for me was that it didn't close with "and they all lived happily ever after".Sorry but no, I certainly would not recommend it.

This mystery novel is a quick read and is fairly predictable. I was drawn to it by the title which comes from Celtic Folklore, and as a Celt was a little disappointed that it barely touches on this theme. I think the ending, with the appearance of Calvery, could have been left out and just a hint of the supernatural would have been more believable. At times, for me, there was difficulty in identifying the narrator; on a couple of occasions it slips between first and third person and it took me a moment to identify who was narrating.Having said all this, I think it a good first novel and look forward to Prettyman's next book.

When I first started reading your review I honestly wasn't sure if I would be interested in the book however as I read on I realized it was a somewhat traditional love story mixed in (which is my favorite!). I really think I would enjoy this book and look forward to buying it! Thanks so much for the review.

I would like to read this book simply because it so highly regarded by so many. From what I have heard, it seems like one of those books for me where I would like the story in general, but whose characters I may run into mixed feelings for. Thank you for the review. I will definitely give Thin Places a try.

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